Grey Area
by Incy Little Spider
Summary: It's an ordinary day at Pokey Oaks kindergarten and everything is normal in the lives of the Powerpuff Girls. But when three new mysterious students turn up, things are going to start getting a lot more crazy.
1. Happy Friendly Newcomers

As usual, the Pokey Oaks kindergarten classroom was loud and raucous with lots of little children laughing and talking madly with each other. It was early in the morning and there were still a few minutes until class begun. Blossom was reading a picture book to one of her peers, pointing and laughing at the pictures. Bubbles was scribbling a picture with her brand new set of crayons, which the Professor had gotten for her as a treat over the weekend. Buttercup was having a fight with Mitch Mitchelson over whose turn it was with the toy train.

A completely normal morning in what was sure to be a completely normal day.

None of the children bothered to be quiet as Ms Keane trotted in. It wasn't until three kids followed in behind her when there was a sudden hush. Ms Keane smiled warmly at the class and clasped her hands together.

"Good morning class!" She chirped cheerfully.

"Good morning Ms Keane," the class recited back, all eyes still fixed on the three strangers standing like soldiers beside her. One of the children, a girl with very bright grey eyes and silver hair done up in a bun, waved perkily at them, grinning from ear to ear. A few kids waved back at her. Ms Keane looked at the girl and her smile broadened.

"As you have noticed, we have three new students joining our class," she explained. "And I'm sure you will make them all feel very welcome."

She put a hand on the girl's silver head.

"This is Baalim..."

The girl cleared her throat very suddenly making a few people jump.

"I prefer to be called Berry," she said, still grinning broadly, looking around at them all. Ms Keane looked surprised for a few seconds, and then gave her head a slight shake and putting her hand back to her side.

"Okay then, Berry it is! You can sit next to Elmer over there," she said, pointing to the small boy sitting as usual by himself. Miss Keane always liked to send people to sit next to Elmer just so the boy could have a friend. Her attempts mostly failed although he was still friendly with Buttercup. Berry, grin never faltering, skipped over to the table and sat down, her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes twinkling brightly. Everyone smiled at her.

"Now this," Ms Keane said, placing a hand on the next kid's head, "is Bochim..."

"Blank!" a loud voice chirped making everyone jump again. Berry had interrupted again and a slight frown creased Ms Keane's face.

"Excuse me Berry?" She said in a slightly stern voice.

"She likes to be called Blank," the girl replied eyeing the new kid who was standing silently beside Ms Keane. She wore an expressionless look, her big black eyes stared at the class without emotion and her black hair hung lankly around her face. Ms Keane looked down at her.

"Is that right, dear?" She said kindly. The girl stood there for a few moments and then slowly nodded. The other kid standing next to her let out a loud snigger.

"Okay then, Blank. You can sit next to Bubbles over there," the blond girl brightened immediately, bouncing up and down on her seat as Blank walked like a robot to sit next to her.

"And Berry, when you want to share something with the class I expect you to raise your hand, not call out," Ms Keane told the girl, still frowning a little. Berry blinked, looking shocked for a second. Then she grinned again.

"Yes Ms Keane, sorry Ms Keane," she chanted in a sing-song voice and a few people giggled. The young woman shot a stern look around the room and the giggling immediately ceased. She placed a hand on the last girl's head.

"Now this is..."

"Buzz," the girl growled before the teacher could finish. Ms Keane stared open-mouthed at her, looking very much like a stunned goldfish. The girl stared definitely back at her with narrowed purple eyes. She had her white hair tied back in a loose ponytail and her right arm was done up in a cast and sling.

"Buzz didn't you hear what I just said before? No calling out," Ms Keane told her, looking angry. Buzz just smirked at her, her one good hand clenching and unclenching by her side. Ms Keane's face was switching between shock and anger as quick as traffic lights.

"You can sit right over at the table next to Elmer and Berry so I can keep an eye on you," the teacher informed the child and she stomped over to her seat making as much noise as possible. Ms Keane stared after her, her face still changing back and forth at an alarming rate.

After that very exciting start to the day things returned to normal nearly at once.

"Now kids can you find all of the punctuation in these three sentences?" Ms Keane asked, pointing at the board. A few hands shot up, Blossom's naturally the first one. The teacher nodded at her.

"Well of course the full stops at the end of each sentence, Miss Keane and the comma in the second sentence and..." the redhead rattled off before Ms Keane, smiling put her hand up to stop her.

"That's great Blossom, dear, but let's give the other kids a go as well," she said and Blossom sighed and nodded. The teacher glanced around.

"Yes Robin?" She said, smiling at the girl.

"Um...those two little thingies at the start and end of the third one?" The girl replied, ducking her head down.

"And what are those called Robin?" Ms Keane prompted gently. The girl screwed her face up in concentration. Berry had her fist stuffed in her mouth to stop the giggling. Blossom who was sitting right behind Berry, was giving the silver-haired girl a disapproving look.

"Does anyone else know the answer?" Ms Keane asked the class as Robin shook her head feebly.

Berry and Blossom's hands were up in the air like flagpoles.

"Yes Berry?" The teacher, nodded at her.

"Quotation marks!" She exclaimed happily and Blossom put her hand down glancing at the other girl with slight annoyance. Ms Keane grinned at her.

After finishing the punctuation, the class moved on to maths. The class was returning to the six times tables which everyone but Blossom had struggled with the week before.

"Now class do we remember the rule for everything timed by eleven? What is six times eleven?" Ms Keane asked and to her surprise Bubbles' hand was the first to shoot up.

"Yes?"

"It's sixty-six!" The girl said, a wide smile lighting her face.

"Great job, Bubbles!" The teacher said, as the girl usually struggled a bit with mathematics. The girl beamed and turned to shake Blank's shoulder.

"I got it right!" She said in a loud whisper but the girl made no answer, not even seeming to notice.

They worked through the six times tables until the bell for recess rang. The children stampeded to the door, screaming to each other excitedly. Buttercup and a bunch of other boys immediately grabbed a few balls and began a game of dodge ball. Bubbles was tugging at Blank's arm, leading her to a more secluded area of the playground.

"Wanna make daisy chains! Look I'll make one for you and you put it in your hair. It'll look so beautiful!" She babbled as she plopped onto the grass and started picking daisies from the ground. Blank stood there, staring forward dully then slowly sat down beside her.

Buzz was sitting cross-legged on the asphalt, sending a sulky look at a bunch of girls playing hopscotch. Robin threw a stone and it landed on the third square. She hopped through the course easily.

"It's your turn Blossom!" Berry called cheerily from behind the girl. The redhead frowned, turning on her heel to face her and crossing her arms.

"I know! I'm not stupid!" She said crossly walking up and picking up the stone. Berry grinned widely and looked over at Buzz who had a nasty little smirk on her face.

Blossom threw the stone and it landed on the fifth square. She began to hop through the course. Suddenly from her spot on the asphalt, Buzz narrowed her eyes and clenched her good hand by her side.

"Whoa!" Blossom shrieked, feet sweeping from underneath her. She threw her hands forward to break the fall and landed with a thump on the ground. Berry gave a little scream of laughter and tears welled up in the redhead's eyes. She quickly blinked them away and got to her feet, readjusting her crooked bow and glaring at the silver-haired girl.

"You pushed me!" She snapped, face flushing bright red. Berry stuffed her fist back into her mouth to stifle the mad laughter, tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks.

"It's not funny! I could tell Ms Keane what you did!" Blossom said sternly, hands on hips. Robin looked on at the sparring girls with a wary look and Buzz was chortling uncontrollably from her place on the asphalt.

"How could I have pushed you? I was here all the time! How could I run up, push you over and get back so fast? Your just angry cause you looked like an idiot," Berry shot back, eyes gleaming. Blossom turned bright red.

"I _felt _someone push me! Are you calling me a liar?" She spat.

"You must've imagined it," Berry said carelessly, rolling her eyes. "C'mon don't be a wussie. Let's just get on with the game."

Blossom looked murderous for a few seconds then she took a few deep breaths and walked back to start of the course, her arms firmly crossed across her chest. She looked over at Buzz who was sending her a mocking sneer. Biting her bottom lip, she turned back to the front.

Over at the corner of the playground, a small smile was playing at Blank's thin lips as Bubbles sat in a pile of daisy chains, chatting animatedly about the cute puppy she had seen in the window of the pet shop.

"I don't know if I want a kitty or a puppy cause I love them both! The Professor won't let us get a kitty though cause he's scared of them...did you wanna know why?" She grinned at her new friend. Before she could get an answer the bell for the end of recess rang. Bubbles stuck her tongue out. Standing up and leaving the daisy chains on the grass, she grabbed Blank's hand eagerly and led her across the playground with the rest of the children.

Ms Keane smiled at them as they took their seats. Buttercup was still talking to the boys about something. Bubbles was drawing a picture for Blank and giggling. Blossom, having seemed to have gotten over her recess argument, was looking at Ms Keane with utmost attention.

"Hey can I sign your cast?" A kid asked Buzz as the girl picked absent-mindedly at a scab on the back of her good hand. The white haired girl sent the boy an evil look and he gulped and turned away.

"Now kids I think we'll have a quick quiz on the spelling words we learnt last week. Get out a sheet of paper and a pencil please," she said clapping her hands together. Buttercup groaned loudly from the back but she was drowned out by the ruffle of people reaching for pencils and paper.

"Alright class, the first word is..._grandmother_."

Everyone scribbled the word down. Berry was rolling her eyes.

"Is everyone done? Okay the next word is..."

This went on until the last word was called. Buzz was glancing over at Berry and Blossom who were writing all the words down with ease. A sneaky smile was playing at her lips.

"Alright, Mike can you collect all of the papers? While I correct them you can all have twenty minutes of free time," Ms Keane instructed as Mike Believe jumped up to collect everyone's papers. Buttercup was still erasing something out frantically as the rest of the class started to go to the toys, books and crayons.

Buzz sat by herself again, glaring at anyone who dared to make eye-contact with her. Blossom had gotten out a book to read and Bubbles went back to her drawing.

Buttercup had wandered over to the building blocks and began to stack them.

"I betcha I can make a tower taller than yours," she challenged Mitch Mitchelson who smirked at her.

"Yeah right. I'll flatten you!" He replied and the game was on. Buttercup, working at top speed, began to stack the blocks up. It didn't take the duo very long before the towers were teetering dangerously.

While the rest of the class got one with their own thing, Buzz stared at the two from across the room.

"Stop taking all the blocks!" Buttercup giggled, turning away from her tower to look for some more building blocks. She didn't notice the girl across the room, clenching her good hand and squinting her eyes.

The tower wavered from side to side and then it collapsed to the ground, half of them bouncing off Buttercup's head. She gave a yell of surprise as Mitch burst into triumphant laughter. The raven-haired puff stared at the pile of blocks for a few seconds then laughed along with Mitch good-naturedly.

"I'll kick your butt at dodge ball," she chuckled as they packed up the blocks. She turned and to her slight surprise, saw Buzz sending her a murderous look from her across the room. Buttercup glared back.

"What's her problem?" Mitch said turning to glare at the girl as well. Buttercup shrugged.

"Alright, can everyone get back to their seats, please? Don't forget to pack up all of the toys and books!" Ms Keane called and everyone began to wander back to their seats.

The young woman straightened the stack of papers and looked around at them.

"Well it looks like not everyone went over their spelling words as well as they could. I hope to see some improvement next week," she said. Buttercup glanced down at her hands, looking guilty.

"However I'd like to congratulate Blossom on getting all ten of the words right _again,_" Blossom beamed as the rest of the class clapped. Berry had stiffened suddenly, her face going slack.

"I'd also like to congratulate Berry who got nine out of ten. Good job!" Ms Keane smiled over at the silver-haired girl. The girl didn't smile back but clenched her fists and looked down, eyes glistening. As the applause died down and Ms Keane turned around to put the papers away, Buzz moved as quickly as lightning, leaning over to Berry and whispering something into her ear. A look of outrage went over the silver-haired girl's face. Just as quick, before Ms Keane could see, Buzz returned to her seat, a smirk on her lips.

Berry turned to Blossom as Ms Keane started to explain something to the class.

"_You cheated,_" she hissed and Blossom opened her mouth in shock.

"_No I didn't,_" she whispered back, feeling stung at the accusation. Berry's face went red with rage.

"_Yes you did you dirty little liar, you copied me, you copied me, you little..._"

"Berry!" Ms Keane called from the front of the room, standing with the chalk clenched in her hand.

"It's very rude to speak when someone else is talking," she said sternly and the girl's face went even redder.

"Blossom cheated on the spelling test!" She shouted her fists clenched on the desk. The redhead, who was growing pink in the face, gave a little noise of outrage. Everyone was staring at the two girls.

"_Berry! _Blossom worked hard to get that score! She would never..."

"Yes she did, she did, she did! She copied me, she copied my work! How else would she have beaten me? No-one _ever _beats me!" Berry cut Ms Keane off and everyone but Blank and Buzz gave a gasp of surprise.

"_How dare she...the little bitch, the little..._"

"Berry, you never use that language in my classroom! I think you need a time out to calm yourself down!" Ms Keane cried, going white in the face. She marched up to the girl but as quick as lightning, Berry had leaped to her feet and tackled Blossom off her chair and onto the floor.

It all happened so fast if you blinked you would've missed it. Berry's hands went around the red-head's throat and a savage look went over her face as she tightened her grip. Blossom's screamed and zapped the girl with red laser beams. Berry's grip loosened and Blossom grabbed her by the shoulders and kneed her hard in the stomach. The silver-haired girl gasped in pain and grabbed the nearest chair, lifting it over head and slamming it into Blossom's body. The red-head flew like a rag doll across the room and through the wall.

Everyone was screaming. Berry stood there panting, a mad gleam in her eyes. Buzz had burst into insane laughter and Blank had her head in her arms, shoulders shaking.

With a scream, Buttercup and Bubbles were flying outside to see if Blossom was okay.

The red-head lay flat on her back on the asphalt, bruises forming on her neck and cheek. Bubbles and Buttercup helped the dazed puff to her feet and they all turned to glare at Berry through the hole in the wall. The look of madness had quickly been replaced by a very calm expression.

"Terribly sorry," she said, so quietly she was almost whispering.

"I just won't tolerate cheaters."

Blossom spat blood onto the ground.

"I did not cheat. You're going to be sorry you ever tried to mess with the Powerpuff Girls," she said, hands on her hips, feet apart and chin raised. Buttercup and Bubbles slid into position beside her, glaring at the silver-haired girl as well.

Berry sneered, crossing her arms across her chest.

"The _Powerpuff Girls? _Now that's what I call pathetic," she laughed and glanced at Buzz who was still giggling madly at her seat. She gave the white-haired girl a hard look and in an instant she was standing beside her.

"C'mon Blank," Buzz hissed in a rough voice. The black haired girl wandered over to stand next to them. Tears were streaming down her face.

"You cowardly piece of shit," Buzz spat at Blank. She covered her face with her hands. Berry glared at them both.

"Let's teach these girls a lesson," she snarled and Buzz clenched her good fist forward. Blank didn't move.

"I _said,_" Berry turned on the black haired girl, grinding her teeth together, "Let's teach them a lesson!"

Blank's lips moved silently.

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?" _

And the next second Berry had grabbed Blank around the waist, raised her high above her head and thrown her across the room. The black-haired girl didn't make a noise as she crumpled uselessly against a table. The kids sitting at the table all screamed and fell from there chairs. Bubbles screamed and flashed through the air towards her.

This move set Buzz off like a firecracker. Screaming with laughter she pushed her palm forward and the blond cart-wheeled through the air and landed in a heap on the floor. She got up immediately and bared her teeth, shooting laser beams at the other girl.

Buzz dodged it easily but wasn't expecting Buttercup to race towards and tackle her hard to the floor. Buzz whipped her feet up and slammed them into Buttercup's stomach. The raven-haired girl retaliated by punching her in the jaw. The girls head snapped back and she stumbled off balance. Buttercup, shot out her hand and grabbed the white-haired girl's bad arm. She bent it back and a horrible crack rang through the room. Buzz screamed in agony, falling to her knees, sobbing hysterically.

Buttercup finished by slamming her palm into her face and shattering the girl's nose. Buzz lay there on the floor sobbing, her face covered in blood.

"Cheap shot," she hissed through the tears, "cheap shot."

Berry, Blossom and Bubbles were all still standing, looking on. Berry's eyes flickered to the lifeless form of Blank lying on the table and Buzz moaning on the floor. Then as quick as a whip she zapped over first to Buzz grabbed her by the forearm and then to Blank grabbing her as well. Then without looking back, she shot up into the air and crashed through the ceiling, the two girls dangling from each of her hands.

"No!" Bubbles yelled and the three girls leapt to the air to try and stop the retreating figures.

They were already gone.

Ms Keane and the rest of the class lay huddled in a group on the floor, looking terrified. Blossom looked around and shook her head slightly.

"That was...insane," Buttercup muttered as Blossom rubbed her neck uneasily.

"Let's hope we don't see them again," the red-head replied quietly.

Ms Keane got up shakily as Bubbles burst into hysterical tears.

All in all...it really hadn't been the most normal day after all.

* * *

**A/N This idea came to me so fast I had no choice but to write it down. I really wanted to challenge myself by writing about three things that I've never ever done. Three OC's, girls at canon age and a fight scene. I suck at writing all three...so I had a go at writing this. Hopefully it isn't mary-sue, ooc, and crappy. Hope you liked it. **


	2. Nice Family You Got There

The Professor was waiting for them as they walked in, sitting solemnly at the kitchen table and smoking his pipe with a thoughtful look on his face. The girls glanced at each other nervously and floated over to join him. He didn't say anything for awhile, completely lost in faraway thoughts. It was only when Blossom awkwardly cleared her throat that he jerked and looked at them, seeming surprised to see them sitting there. He rubbed his head and smiled grimly over at them.

"Ms Keane rang me earlier and told me what happened, girls," he told them as he examined the three girls carefully. Bubbles began to sniffle quietly again and Buttercup glared at her.

"I think," he said carefully, staring up at the ceiling, slowly scratching his chin. "We need to be on the alert from now on. Be prepared for attack, girls."

They all stared up at him with worried faces. He immediately looked guilty for frightening them, running a hand through his hair sheepishly.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you girls can handle them. Just be on guard that's all," he said down at them soothingly and the three girls glanced at each other. Blossom looked back to her father, grimly confident.

"We _can _handle it, Professor. We've fought tougher enemies then them and we've always won. These girls will be a cinch."

The Professor smiled a little at her calmly self-assured confidence. Her words had managed to settle her sisters down as well and Bubbles slowly stopped crying, wiping her eyes.

"Good. I have full confidence in all of you girls and I know you can take care of these other three in a heart-beat," his daughters all beamed at his words. Everything seemed a lot more manageable now, after this calming talk and their three new classmates no longer seemed so threatening. They all felt ready for any attack that would most certainly come in the days to follow.

Strangely though, the days passed by without a single word or appearance from their new enemies. A tense week slid by without the three showing up at all and slowly, everyone began to relax and unwind once more. They had all expected a Princess scenario, new classmate that took a dislike to the girls and blasted everything apart a day or two later. Nothing like that occurred at all and everyone felt extremely grateful.

Although Pokey Oaks Kindergarten had a wall and a ceiling to repair, everyone else came out of the event mildly unscathed. Buttercup had been the least affected by the trio and went on with her life as usual; completely comfortable with the knowledge she could handle whatever would come her way. Blossom came out of it with a slightly bruised ego and she began training before school to get her alertness and reaction time up. Berry had managed to hurt her and she was sure that was because she had allowed herself to be caught off guard. She mustn't let it ever happen again.

Bubbles brooded for a day and a half before returning to her cheery mood once more. The blond girl adored making friends and naturally as a result, hated losing them and she felt down about Blank for awhile. Even when she brightened up again, the whole situation and especially Blank niggled at the back of her mind like a mosquito bite, refusing to go away.

They briefly discussed where the three had come from, whether they were like the Powerpunks or Rowdyruffs, evil counterparts to themselves. They all sat down on the cushions around the living-room floor and agreed they probably were.

"You heard that Berry though. They didn't have a group name like Wowiepoop Girls or anything," Buttercup argued and her sisters giggled a little.

"Yeah but they all had B names and there were three of them and they had superpowers. From this evidence it is clearly obvious that they are similar to the Rowdyruffs and Powerpunks and we must conclude they are villainous counterparts of us."

Buttercup as usual felt very irritated at her sister's cool logic and she glared sullenly over at her. Blossom smiled and tickled the raven-haired girl's sides a bit, not wanting to cause an argument. The green puff giggled and knocked her mitt away.

"Well who made them then? They need Chemical X and no weirdo's tried to get it off us or anything," the black-haired sister fell thoughtfully silent. Blossom, happy to have a problem to tackle, tapped at her lips.

"Well we know when Mojo first made the Rowdyruffs they were more...like weapons and they couldn't really think for themselves. They were like all those robots Mojo creates, quick-fire ways to destroy us."

Bubbles and Buttercup had never really thought about this and they stared at her interestedly, always enjoying when the red-head tried to figure things out with her advanced brain.

"However when Him recreated the boys we all agree they had more personality and were, I think as a result of being recreated by Him, more sadistic, vicious and evil. Unlike when under Mojo's control, they weren't just going to kill us as efficiently as they could. Like Him, they wanted to push us to our mental limit and see us reach our breaking point before destroying us. They wanted to mentally and physically torture us and then get rid of us."

Her sisters stared at her uneasily, feeling uncomfortable at this prognosis. Bubbles shook her head violently.

"Nah uh. They were just acting like normal boys...I don't think they knew how to stop, they didn't know they were being really bad and stuff..."

"You're too nice, Bubbles," her black-haired sister interrupted. "They were going to kill us."

Bubbles was firm in her opinion, pouting slightly, arms crossed.

"Yeah but all the bad-guys in Townsville want to kill us and you're overreacting! Kids don't know how to do bad torture and mental stuff like Him. The Rowdies are too stupid for that."

Blossom was enjoying this almost intellectual debate. Sure she knew she was right but it was fun to have a rational argument with her sisters for once. She smiled to herself.

"Interjection," she raised her arm up. Her sister's stared at her perplexedly and she flushed a little, letting her hand fall back down to her side.

"Sorry," she giggled a little and the other two laughed back before she continued on. "Whether the Rowdyruffs wanted to torture us or not is beside the point. I'm saying that when they were recreated by Him they were more independent, could think for themselves and were more evil."

She looked around at them both like a school-teacher, trying to make them understand what she was getting at.

"Berry, Blank and Buzz were like that as well. I think Buzz was smart enough to make us fight amongst ourselves...she caused the main conflict, I think. That means Mojo probably didn't make them...I think it was Him."

Buttercup pondered over this but Bubbles was completely unconvinced. She shook her head again, pigtails flying up and down madly.

"Remember, no repeat performance!" she trilled in a sing-song voice not noticing as her two sisters turned to stare at her uneasily. Buttercup glanced at Blossom and they both looked at the blond sister feeling uncomfortable.

"You remember that?" the green puff asked and Bubbles giggled dismissively.

"Of course! He told us before he left. I don't think he would fib about that."

Blossom was quiet and uncertain.

"How do you know for sure? He's a bad-guy and he could lie or change his mind..."

"No, he wouldn't do that. I'm sure of it," Bubbles was calmly confident and this made her sisters more uncomfortable than ever. The blond girl was blissfully unaware of their concerned stares.

"Bubbles? You haven't...seen him around have you?" Blossom was stern and Bubbles' eyes opened wide with shock.

"No!"

"No talking toys...?

"Nah uh!"

"Weird dream, nightmares...?"

"Nup."

"Chalk worlds...?"

"Nope."

"Butterflies, weird old men..?"

"No, no, no."

Her voice was cheerfully sing-song.

"Haven't been going over for afternoon tea or anything?

The girl went bright red and she shook her head again.

"No Him, no Him at all, I cross my heart hope to die!"

"Stick a needle in your eye?" Buttercup interjected, staring her down with narrowed eyes. The blonde girl pointed madly at both of her sea-blue orbs.

"Needle in _both _of them! Pinky promise," she realized she didn't have a pinky and giggled, smiling from ear to ear. Blossom and Buttercup slowly began to look convinced.

"We know he's taken a liking to you, Bubbles. You have to promise to tell us if anything weird starts going on," the red-head told her in a firm, motherly tone. The blue puff pouted again and crossed her arms.

"Yeah yeah I know. I'm not a baby," she said sulkily and they all decided to leave it at that. They went back to the problem at hand.

"So not Him and not Mojo..." Blossom's brow furrowed with concentration. They all become thoughtfully silent, trying to reach a conclusion.

"Dya think...the Professor knows something?" Buttercup suggested slowly after a few minutes passed. They were all quiet again.

"No, he would tell us if he did," Blossom replied easily. The green puff didn't look convinced and her red-headed sister pulled a face.

"If he was keeping something from us it's probably because he isn't a hundred per cent sure if he's right or not. He wouldn't want to give us false information. He needs to be totally sure before he tells us anything."

This settled the raven-haired girl down and she nodded slowly. Bubbles rubbed at her head, wincing a little with pain.

"My head hurts. Can we think about it later?" she said, eyes screwed shut. Buttercup glanced over at Blossom for her word of approval. The pink puff shrugged unhappily, not wanting to leave the problem unsolved but feeling tired as well.

"Alright then," she sighed.

She kept on thinking about it throughout the day and into the next, mulling the facts over and over again around in her mind, until one night Buttercup stopped her down the hall, gripping her shoulder firmly.

"Look Red," she started soothingly. "Just relax. It's nearly been a whole week now. Maybe they're not even gonna come back."

Blossom smiled grimly and shook her mitt off. She felt slightly surprised the green puff had caught on to her worrying.

"Yeah I know that might be a possibility, Buttercup," she sighed, squirming a little uncomfortably. "I just can't leave it, y'know? I really need to know what's going on."

The black-haired girl smirked a little.

"You're such a little know-it-all," she said affectionately. "Always have to figure out everything."

Blossom gave her a friendly push, giggling a little. She already felt a bit calmer, thankful that her sister had talked some sense into her. She forced herself to push the issue out of her mind.

Another week passed and then yet another one and soon the whole fiasco had become long forgotten. Even to Blossom it became a distant memory although she still threw herself into training until her alertness had reached to its peak once more. It really seemed like they had seen the back of Berry, Blank and Buzz once and for all.

Maybe around three months later, after a long week of school and crime-fighting Bubbles was happy to find herself enjoying a bright, sunny Saturday afternoon. The kindergartner was playing by herself out on the pavement as per usual, Buttercup more interested in some solitary basketball games and Blossom training and studying inside.

The Professor would occasionally pop his head out to make sure everything was running smoothly and settle any ruffled feathers or scuffles the girls would encounter. They were all having fun after a hard, tiring week and Bubbles was scribbling unicorns and rainbows across the concrete with her chalk. There were a handful of stuffed animals strewn around her.

"Look there's you!" she informed one of her companion's, a smiling white goat. She pointed her slightly smudged picture out for friend in case it couldn't make it out by itself.

"I'm gonna draw you next," she told another watching admirer, Buttercup's green alligator who smiled toothily up at her from besides the goat. The little blond girl beamed, before her eyes settled on the sleepy-eyed octopus lying on its side against the pavement. She leaned over to straighten him up.

"Don't be sad Octi. I already drew lots of pictures of you. See look," she pointed one of its tentacles over to the section of the concrete dedicated to the octopus, purple figure smiling hand in hand with a grinning self-portrait of the girl.

"Look your riding on a horse! She's so pretty, look she has sparkly hair and it's all plaited and beautiful..." the blond girl babbled, reaching for an orange piece of chalk. She looked around confusedly and saw it had rolled away towards some shrubbery besides the foot-path. She crawled down to get it again.

She looked up curiously as a soft crackling noise rustled from down the empty street. She stared around interestedly before smiling and returning to reach down for her piece of chalk. The girl looked up again as the rustling grew louder. She peered down the street and saw next to someone's fence, a green shrub moving slightly.

Giggling slightly with the promise of a new adventure she abandoned her chalk and crawled a little down the concrete.

"Hello? Anybody there?" she sang happily, excited with the possibility of making a new friend. The bush rustled again and after a few seconds passed by, a small white face poked out from behind the leaves.

"Blank!" Bubbles cried gleefully before covering her mouth up and looking over to her house down the road. The Professor was nowhere to be seen and she let out a little sigh of relief. She turned back forward. The other girl's chin was trembling slightly and she looked like a scared puppy; hidden in the leafy branches, head poking out like a tentative turtle.

Bubbles shifted down towards her joyfully, a wide smile across her face. She stopped a few inches away from the green shrub, crouched amongst the grassy front lawn.

"Why are you in the bush, silly?" she giggled, face alight with happiness. Blank's black eyes darted around fretfully before settling quietly down on the blond girl again. Bubbles looked around and leaned in as if sharing a huge secret with her friend, eyes growing even larger.

"My sisters and the Professor say I shouldn't play with the bad-guys," she whispered and her eyes grew slightly sad. "I can't play jump-rope with the nice monsters from Monster Island and I can't see Fuzzy in his house and I can't go have afternoon tea with Him."

Her eyes fogged over a little and her lower lip quivered. Blank stared at her with wide eyes, head cocked to the side and there was a smidgen of scared worry across her usually expressionless face. Before tears could flow down her cheeks, Bubbles gave her head a firm shake and smiled up brightly at the other girl again.

"I don't care though," she grinned. "You didn't do bad things like Fuzzy and Him and all the monsters do. It was only your sisters...wait, they are your sisters right?"

Blank was deadly quiet for a few seconds unblinking, before slowly nodding her head up and down like a zombie. The blond girl looked a bit more serious than usual.

"They're not very nice...but you're really nice!"

A tiny little smile appeared on the other girl's face and when Bubbles stuck out her mitt for her friend to take, she gratefully did, pulling herself out from the green branches. The blue puff noted with interest that she didn't have hands either but mitts just like her, Blossom and Buttercup. She was moving gingerly across the pavement as if in pain and Bubbles remembered her flying through the air and crumpling against the table, but decided not to bring it up.

"That's Octi he's my best friend...besides Blossom and Buttercup of course. Oh and the Professor as well. Maybe Mojo too, I like Mojo but he can be a bad monkey sometimes. I think he likes me too but I don't really know cause he's always trying to get robots to blow us up. Maybe he doesn't know how to make friends...I should help him."

She stared up at the sky interestedly, Octi clasped against her chest before looking down again.

"That's Penny the goat. Say hello Penny!" she waved the goat's hoof at the black-eyed girl who was staring bemusedly at it all.

"That's Buttercup's alligator. She calls it Ripper or Head-Muncher or Rwral. I like Toothy better," she pushed the green toy up for her friend to see. "What do you think?"

Blank didn't answer, looking down at the stuffed animal, reaching out to softly stroke its tail. Bubbles pushed it into her arms and she hugged it happily, smile growing wider. Bubbles grabbed a piece of chalk, grinning and continuing to babble on about whatever sprang to her mind.

"I could go to your house later on. Then the Professor wouldn't catch me and I wouldn't get in trouble," she went a little pink at the idea of tricking her father before grinning sheepishly at the silently content girl.

"Where do you live?" she asked, scribbling away at a chalk drawing and Blank stared at her, face slowly falling down into its expressionless state once more. She reached out; alligator still pressed under her chin and carefully picked up a piece of black chalk. She eyed it disinterestedly before leaning over the concrete. Bubbles watched as she falteringly wrote something out, stopping and starting uneasily as if she was unsure how to spell out her sentence.

The blue puff stared down when the other girl was done.

_Twenteee for, Sterling Rode._

She translated it in her mind, twenty-four Sterling Road. She flinched a little. Sterling Road was in the bad part of town, tucked away somewhere behind a pub or night-club. It was a part of town that the Gangreene Gang or the Rowdyruff Boys would hang around in. The girl pushed her worries from her mind and grinned widely.

"Cool! Hey dya wanna play hide and seek?" she had grown bored with her chalk drawings. "We're not allowed to play tag a lot anymore."

Blank was silent and the tiny smile played at her lips again. Before she could agree or disagree, Bubbles whipped her head around, pigtails flying about madly. She saw with faint horror, the Professor walking out from around the back of the house, whistling to himself and the blue puff felt her heart jump in her chest.

"Oh no," she turned back to Blank but the girl was staring over at the man like a stunned rabbit, jaw hanging open with fright. In a nanosecond she had gotten to her feet and she zapped down the road, quicker then lightning. She left a glowing black light-stream behind her, just like the sisters pink, blue and green ones. Bubbles stared open-mouthed after her.

"What are you up to down there?" a voice chirped cheerily up from above her and she nearly jumped out of her skin. The little blond girl stared up at her sun-hat wearing father and shook like a leaf.

"Umm...err..." she stuttered nervously and her father grinned wider.

"Talking to the squirrels again, eh?" he teased and she grabbed at the excuse eagerly, bouncing her head up and down, smiling from ear to ear. The Professor chuckled and she felt a little uneasy with her tiny white lie.

"Well lunch is nearly ready so I think it's time to pack up your toys, Bubbles," he said and she nodded enthusiastically again before she bent down to collect all her pieces of chalk. He began walking off down towards the house again as she put the chalk away and she pushed Octi and her goat into her arms.

She looked around feeling a little worried. The toy alligator was nowhere to be seen. Staring down the road uneasily, she floated up into the air and hugged her toys tight under her chin. Biting her lip and frowning slightly, she turned to fly softly through the air and back inside the house once more.

* * *

**A/N Hurr. I probably should be continuing with more popular fics...but this is interesting me more at the moment. Don't yell at me if I get stuck on this fic as well. I just suck like that.**


	3. All Along the Clocktower

Bubbles thanked her lucky stars that Buttercup didn't notice her missing toy that night. The rest of the day went by and the next day passed, without her figuring something of hers was missing at all. The blue puff kept her head down, keeping quiet not wanting to catch her sister's attention.

She found her mind drifting to Blank and her sisters nearly all of the time, thinking about it all with curiosity. She wondered why with such a grand entrance, they had all just decided to fall quiet, to sink into the background? They'd been in Townsville all this time; why else would Blank know the address to Sterling Road?

It confused her greatly. If like the Professor, Blossom, Buttercup and the entirety of her classmates believed and the trio were villains, enemies to the Powerpuff Girls...why weren't they doing anything? Why were they in hiding? She found herself wishing they would attack, just so they'd be normal, manageable villains once more, instead of mysterious mind-boggling figures to ponder over.

She didn't have the chance to just forget about it all again like last time. A few days later she floated into her bedroom to find Buttercup rummaging desperately throughout the room, zapping around and tipping things over, throwing clothes, toys and hair accessories around frantically. Bubbles hovered in the doorway, sucking at her lower lip knowing exactly what she was searching for.

The green puff jumped a mile when she caught sight of her sister, watching her from the door. She glared and crossed her arms, as if she hadn't been doing anything at all. Bubbles grinned at her nervously before giggling and floating off down the hall.

Buttercup was sulky at dinner, pouting and glaring off into the distance, stabbing her fork around her plate. The blond-haired girl tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, staring down at her plate as Blossom and the Professor looked over at the green puff concernedly.

"Anything wrong honey?" the Professor asked gently and the girl jumped a little before going pink. She murmured something, playing with her fork.

"Just...lost something. I'll find it later."

Blossom and the Professor glanced at each other, before returning to their meals. Bubbles didn't say a word.

That night, Bubbles didn't hear her raven-haired sister snoring like she normally did. She was clearly awake, worrying over her toy.

As the days flew by, the green puff grew more desperate. She turned the house upside down, searching for her missing belonging, throwing cushions and furniture around despairingly; looking for her alligator. She nearly annihilated Pokey Oaks Kindergarten looking for it, even though she knew deep down she had never taken her toy to school. She left the bedroom looking like a bomb-site in her frantic search for the stuffed animal.

"Where is it, where is it, where is it?" she screamed, rummaging through the closet for what seemed to be the billionth time. Blossom helped her sister look, worried over Buttercup but the blond-haired girl kept away from them, feeling guilty.

The green puff started to grow suspicious.

"Do you know where he is?" she snapped at the blue puff one night over the dinner table. Bubbles shook her head a little too quickly and the black-haired girl narrowed her eyes at her.

"You're lying!" she turned furiously to her father. "Professor, Bubbles took my alligator!"

Bubbles felt like she was going to cry as the Professor looked over at her sternly.

"Is this true Bubbles?" he said and she shook her head even harder, pigtails flying.

"I didn't, I didn't!" tears began welling up in her sea-blue eyes. Blossom clucked her tongue irritably in Buttercup's direction.

"Just because you are not responsible over your belongings, doesn't mean you can take it out on Bubbles…" she lectured and Buttercup's face went bright red.

"Keep out of it, it's none of your business!" she shot out angrily but a smidgen of guilt showed through in her face. Blossom crossed her arms firmly and turned away, head up in the air haughtily. All of this fighting over toys was far beneath her.

Normally Bubbles would have found the funny side in the situation. All of this fighting and worry and it was just a stuffed alligator. She remembered how she had reacted when Octi went missing and giggled a little.

She wasn't sure she wanted to get the alligator off Blank. What if the girl didn't have any other toys to play with? Maybe she had misinterpreted Bubbles and assumed the blond girl had given her the toy as a gift? What if she got really upset when she tried to take it back?

But the green puff was getting more and more agitated as the days flew by, without any sign of her plush toy. It made a few people uneasy, all aware of the girl's infamous temper. Everyone was quietly awaiting an explosion of grand proportions. Bubbles found herself forced to make a choice.

Well it did rightfully belong to Buttercup didn't it? Bubbles came to a reluctant conclusion one evening, in front of the television. She would have to go retrieve the toy herself. She felt nervous…the blue puff knew she couldn't tell anyone about it. They'd get angry at her for playing with a 'bad guy'. The Professor wouldn't just let her fly off on her own either. She didn't know what to do.

She would probably have to sneak off in the night and come back before anyone noticed she was missing. The thought made her feel incredibly uneasy, but childishly, she considered this the only way for her to stay out of trouble. She reluctantly resigned herself to this plan, knowing it was the only way to make her family happy again.

Later that night the Professor tucked them in, kissed a sulking Buttercup on the head to cheer her up and then half-closed the door, letting the light in for his blond-haired daughter. Bubbles listened to him walking down the hall-way and felt her heart pound uncomfortably in her chest.

She waited for what seemed like a very long time until she was a hundred per cent sure her family was asleep. She floated carefully out of the bed to slide out of her nightie and into her dress. As a precaution, she stuffed her section of the bed with some plush toys so it would look like she was still sleeping there. She half-knew this wouldn't really work but it made her feel a little safer.

She took one of her stuffed animals with her, a pink smiling cat and she flew through the round window and into the night.

"You're gonna have someone new looking after you," she told the perplexed cat a little sadly. She flew over the houses and through the cold night air.

"She needs you more than I do...I think she deserves you more than I do too..."

She had felt bad just thinking of taking the alligator off Blank and decided a swap would make it a lot easier. She didn't like giving her toy up, but knew deep down it was the right thing to do.

The blue puff traveled through the dark night for a bit longer until she hit the peaceful, sleeping city. She moved through the chilly air, searching unsuccessfully for Sterling Road, big eyes searching around the bare, empty streets. Finally, after a few minutes she found it tucked behind a row of seedy, filthy pubs and cat-houses. She floated to the cracked, stained pavement, feeling nervous.

All the houses looked abandoned, with overgrown front lawns and smashed windows. Rubbish, cigarette butts and liquor bottles littered the foot-path and the road. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. The whole street stank like urine, vomit, alcohol and cigarette smoke.

Right in the middle of the road, sticking out like a sore thumb, stood a tiny, dilapidated, falling apart clock-house, pointing tall and narrow into the night sky. It wasn't grand like the other clock-tower in the city center. It looked sad, unloved and forgotten. Licking her lips, she checked its number. Twenty-four.

She felt a little dizzy with fear. She knew she should get back to her own safe, clean bed and get as far away from this place as possible.

But the pink stuffed cat banging against her leg convinced her otherwise. She shook her head and she knew she couldn't have Buttercup being upset for any longer. It was making her sad as well. Bubbles knew this was the only way for her to make everyone happy again. She bit her lip, calmed her racing heart and gathered her courage, before flying slowly up towards the stationary hands of the clock-face.

There was a little gap in the planks next to the round clock-face, perfect for someone her size to squeeze through. She was aware of the other two girls living in this building and felt herself stiffening, preparing for an attack.

Nothing came however. Just still, dust-filled silence. She looked around, examining the tiny filthy room with her wide, curious eyes. Most of the little wooden room was taken up by the now cobwebby old mechanics of the clock, but tucked up against the sloping wall was a bundle of graying, patchy sheets. She could hear the scratching, nibbling noises of bugs and rats eating away at the insides of the building. She shuddered with disgust and she fought the urge to fly away as fast as she could, heart racing.

She looked around again and found, poking out from under the moth-eaten fabric, the little green snout of Buttercup's stuffed toy alligator.

Bubbles couldn't believe that someone would sleep here...and definitely not a child, her age. Not Blank, her friend. She felt her eyes grow teary and sympathy tugged at her heart-strings. Wiping her eyes, she floated carefully over towards the old rags, eyes flickering around the deep shadows of the room, alert for anything about to jump out and attack.

Maybe she could swap the two toys around and just make a break for it. She wasn't too fond of the idea. She would've preferred to explain to her friend why she had to take the toy away, so her feelings wouldn't get hurt. But she knew that this place was dangerous and she needed to get away as quickly as she could.

The blue puff leaned down and carefully extracted the green, grinning animal from underneath the sheets. She felt jumpy and on-edge as she slid the pink cat under the rags in replacement.

"You look after her," she whispered to the smiling feline. "Don't let her sisters be meanies and bully her…"

She patted the toy on the head and slowly began to drift away, trying not to make a noise...

...her heart jumped to her throat as a loud, creaking noise echoed throughout the small room and with an explosion of dust, a trap door she hadn't seen before pushed open in the corner of the room. Bubbles nearly screamed, hands flying to her mouth.

A little black head was peeking up at her and she felt her nerves settle. She grinned over at Blank but the girl wasn't looking at her. Her big sad eyes were fixed on the alligator in Bubbles' arms and her lips turned downwards and began to tremble.

The blond girl immediately felt bad, guilt taking over the fright of her sudden appearance. She floated down to help pull the other girl out from the trap door. Blank clambered over onto the rotting floorboards.

"I-I-I'm sorry," she stuttered as the girl stared at the toy in her arms, looking like she was about to cry. "I didn't mean to give him to you...he's my sister's...and she wants him back."

Blank looked down and her black eyes were filled with tears. Bubbles felt overly emotional as well, hating being the reason for her friend's distress.

"B-but...I got you..." she pointed over to the pink cat smiling out at them from underneath the threadbare rags. Blank looked around and her chin ceased its trembling. She stared up at the blond girl and a tiny smile played at her lips.

"I gave you that...so I can take this one back for Buttercup," Bubbles explained, still slightly worried over her friend.

"She's really sad and angry cause she can't find him and she wrecked our bedroom and yelled at me and..."

But Blank wasn't listening to her babbling. She was crawling over towards her makeshift bed and she took her new toy into her arms. Turning to Bubbles, she smiled from ear to ear and bobbed the cat's head up in her direction. Bubbles grinned back and flew down to sit beside her, making little growling noises for the alligator.

Thoughts of going home instantly vanished from her mind as she played with her new friend. Blank made her cat jump on the alligator's back and they both made the two toys amble around the wooden floorboards.

"Giddy up! They're gonna fly to the magic world...there's fairy-floss instead of clouds!" Bubbles giggled, making the two toys zoom around in the air, lying on her back, kicking her legs towards the ceiling. Blank's face was alight with joy.

The cat and the reptile explored the magic worlds, crying with delight at the candy-cane trees and the lemonade oceans, bouncing around each other excitedly. They munched on the peppermint grass and Head-Muncher got grass stuck between his teeth, sending Kitty into hysterics. They swam in the chocolate lakes and lapped up raspberry cordial rivers, having the time of their lives.

They met the friendly locals and everyone wanted a ride on Toothy's back. He flew them around, laughing as the people shrieked with excitement, flying through the bright pink skies. Time went by and then sadly, it was time to go.

"We'll miss you! We love you!" Bubbles sang happily as she laid the alligator back onto the ground. "See you next time!"

She pushed the toy over and made it give the cat a big sloppy kiss on the nose. Blank was grinning wide and made her pink feline do the same. Bubbles giggled and then looked up around the falling apart room. She had completely forgotten where she was.

Sudden fright went through her. What if the Professor or her sisters had found out she was missing? Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. She looked over at Blank, who was still making the two toys hug and cuddle each other, grinning from ear to ear.

"Blank?" she said and the girl looked up, face bright with glee.

"I should...be going now," she explained and the dark-haired girl's happy expression fell a little. A little crease appeared between her eyes.

"I'll come back!" Bubbles added hurriedly. "I'll come every day if you want me to."

Blank still looked sad for a few seconds before she smiled a little back. They both got to their feet and Bubbles, a bit upset over making her friend unhappy, spread her arms wide.

"Hug," she insisted and Blank hesitated before leaning in reciprocate, hugging the blond girl hard. Bubbles giggled and after a few seconds, tried to pull away, but Blank held on tight. Bubbles tittered a little again, just thinking the girl was clingy before attempting to pull away once more.

The black-haired girl's grip was vice-tight around her neck. A smidgen of fright trailed through her. She pushed firmly at the other girl's chest but to her surprise, Blank didn't budge.

"Blank? Let go...Blank I have to go..." she cried out uneasily, trying to pry the girl's claws from her neck. A sudden strange feeling was going through her...an odd draining sensation. She felt dizzy and weak and she hopelessly tried to push the girl away again. She couldn't even raise her arms up.

She was swaying on the spot like a broken puppet with the strings cut and Blank finally stepped away. Her little white face was drawn with terror as Bubbles felt her knees buckle and her eyes roll up to the back of her head. Her vision was growing blurry and faint and she felt like she was going to throw up. She let out a whimper of fear and Blank was staring at her, terrified.

She felt herself falling like a dead bird to the ground, and the blackness swept down to engulf her.

* * *

Bubbles was floating somewhere warm and filled with soft yellow light. She wanted to stay there forever...but she heard something in the distance. A voice...she couldn't make out what it was saying. She felt it reeling her in like a fish on the line, drawing her back to earth, back to the hard uncomfortable ground.

Everything was hazy and blurred around the edges. Her head was pounding painfully and her mouth was as dry as bone. She could see a faint figure looming down at her, breathing cigarette smoke into her face and she tried not to cough.

"...she's a god-damned Powerfluff...if this was a real person they would've been dead in a second...you fucking idiot."

There were dry, heaving sobs somewhere far in the distance. Bubbles' vision was growing faintly stronger and her eyes fluttered. She slowly recognized the person standing over her as the silver-haired figure of Berry...she was sneering down at her with her big gray eyes and a cigarette dangled from her mouth.

Bubbles felt a sick wave of nausea go over her. Sure she had seen the Gangreen Gang smoke...and her father with his pipe. But a child? A little girl her age, smoking a cigarette? There was something so disgustingly perverse about that. She felt herself shudder uncontrollably.

"Oh you're sorry are you?" Berry snarled over at the sobbing and shaking Blank, curled up in a ball in the corner. "Sorry doesn't make it any better does it?"

Bubbles faintly heard the girl crying harder. Through the mind-numbing fog, she felt her heart pang painfully in sympathy for her friend. Her eyes rolled around her skull and Berry noticed. She leaned down and gave the blond girl a hard little slap across the cheek. Bubbles exhaled in pain, head pushed to the side, drool dribbling from out of her mouth.

"What did I tell you? We can't draw attention to ourselves...we have to do this to people no-one else cares about. Not a fucking celebrity. We'll have the cops on our asses in a heart-beat. Don't you understand?"

The words all rang painfully in her skull and she tried to make sense of it. Her head was too fogged over to figure out what the hell the girl was talking about. She knew she was in danger...terrible danger. What was Berry going to do to her?

"What do you mean you did it by accident?" the silver-haired girl snapped and she leaned down over the blond girl again, blowing smoke almost spitefully into her face. Bubbles gagged and choked, head lolling around. Blank made tiny whimpering noises and buried her head in her hands. Berry rolled her eyes, nasty smirk playing at her lips.

"Buzz can control herself...why can't you?"

She waited for an answer only she could hear, somehow being able to interpret the black-haired girl's hysterical cries into words and sentences. She snorted and rolled her eyes again, breathing the smoke deep into her little lungs.

"Well just give it back to her then...then tell her to piss off. We're probably going to have to move again because of you."

And with that she got to her feet, sneered and spat into the blond girl's face, and pushed her head around with her bare foot. Then with another disdainful look at her sister, she floated off down the trap-door and away into the darkness.

Bubbles was terrified...she had never felt so helpless. She was at the complete mercy of these people and she wanted to cry, scream or do _anything_ to save herself. Wiping her tears away, Blank took a few deep breaths to settle herself and chin still trembling, began to crawl over towards the girl.

Bubbles felt her looming down over her, face big and frightened. Then her hand was pulling her dress up over her head and the girl's mouth was lowering down to fix over the middle of her chest. She flinched with shock, attempting unsuccessfully to push the black-haired girl away.

The opposite feeling from before was flowing through her. A strange, warm filling up, spreading from the spot where Blank's mouth was fixed and washing over to every part of her body. She felt like she was inflating like a balloon, brightening up, being filled with static electricity until she was sure her hair was standing on end. Her eyes felt like they were shining like twin beacons.

She gasped like she was breaking through the surface of the sea and instantly shoved the girl's head away, pulling her dress back down. Blank's eyes were scared and filled with tears but Bubbles was too frightened to say a word. She grabbed the green plush toy from the ground and flew as fast as she could, out of the room and into the dark, cold night.

Her mind was empty as she zapped through the sky, out of city and into the suburbs, filled with a strange, sparking energy. She felt like she could destroy the entire city with a blink, like she could blast a hole in the solar system with a yell. Fear was thrumming through her...she thought she felt Berry's breath at the back of her neck,

In a few minutes she had reached home and as soon as she was in her warm, safe room, she slammed and locked the window up tight, close to terrified sobs. She threw the alligator into the closet and changed into her nightie once more. Her sister's were still asleep and unassuming and she heard heavy snores from down the corridor. She felt a smidgen of relief go through her. She hadn't been caught.

Eyes filled to the brim with salty tears, she climbed under her sheets and cuddled up to Octi, pulling her pillow firmly over her head. She tried desperately to forget everything that had happened in that old clock-tower far away, as she drifted off into a heavy, unshakeable sleep.

* * *

The room was full of bright cheery light and birds chirped from outside the window. The girl looked around, head heavy, eyes gummed up with sleep. The bed was empty and she heard cluttering noises from somewhere else in the house.

Her entire body felt light and weightless as if she was floating on a cloud.

Was that horrible house a dream...? Had she imagined it? She got slowly to her feet, floating out of the room, not even bothering to change out of her pajamas.

"Hey there sleepy-head," the Professor said when she reached the kitchen. He was standing over the stove, making pancakes. Her head felt dull with tiredness and she blinked up at him. She looked confusedly over at the table where Blossom and Buttercup were sitting, already dressed, chirping at each, wide grins planted on their faces.

Buttercup was hugging her alligator to her chest, its head tucked under her chin.

They both looked over as the blue puff floated over to sit by them. Buttercup was beaming.

"You wouldn't believe it, Bubbles. I found it in the closet!" her voice lowered a bit. "S-s-sorry for saying...y'know."

Bubbles just smiled a little uneasily. The alligator's presence proved that the night before had been a hundred per cent real and the thought made shivers run up and down her spine.

"You were sleeping like a rock!" Blossom told her cheerily, smiling over at her. "We tried shaking you, yelling, hitting..." she glanced at Buttercup at the last word and the green puff shrugged, looking a little guilty.

"You must working too hard, sweetie," the Professor said gently from over by the stove. Bubbles just nodded, head filled with fog.

Sometime later, the Professor served up their breakfast and as Blossom and Buttercup chattered on, Bubbles stayed quiet. She watched as her father walked out of the room to get the papers. As she ate, she felt her sisters' concerned eyes on her.

"Are you okay?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah, why aren't you talking?" Buttercup added.

The blond-haired girl just shrugged, swallowing down a mouthful of juice.

"Just tired, that's all," she said sleepily and after staring at her worriedly for a few more seconds, her sisters both turned away again.

The Professor was walking slowly up towards them, eyes fixed at a page in the papers, brow furrowed. His daughter's all looked over at him interestedly. The man sat down at the table lost in the article, lost in thought.

"What is it?" the three all demanded, zooming around to try and catch a glimpse at what was capturing his attention. The Professor swatted his hand around irritably as if they were buzzing flies.

"Girls please," he said sternly but they refused to listen, peering over his shoulder at the paper.

"Faux-fur coats, fifty per cent off?" Blossom asked confusedly, staring down at the page.

"Mojo Jojo's autobiography, out next fall?" Bubbles added, brow furrowed.

"The Mayor announces a holiday dedicated to pickles?" Buttercup threw in, completely baffled.

The Professor sighed and straightened out the papers, a little bit annoyed.

"If you sit down I'll tell you," he said and after staring at each other, they all flew back to their seats, faces forward and attentive. The Professor looked awkward as if he didn't want to tell them what was bothering him so much.

"Just..." he fumbled a little. "A senior citizen passed away last night. They died in their sleep."

Blossom and Buttercup just stared up at him perplexedly but Bubbles felt something cold go through her. Her sisters glanced at each other, then at her and then up to their father. A few awkward minutes passed. Blossom was the first to break the silence.

"I know it's sad Professor...and pardon my bluntness...but what's the big deal? Senior citizen's pass away from natural causes all the time."

The man scratched at the back of his head and the slightly concerned look on his face seemed to melt away.

"You're right honey..." he said and his red-headed daughter smiled a little. "I'm just...jumping to conclusions...I'm sorry for worrying you."

There was a pause as his fingers tapped at the table-top for a few seconds before he pushed himself to his feet. His three daughters' all watched him go, newspaper tucked firmly under his arm, head down.

"What's his problem?" Buttercup asked, a little crease appearing between her eyes. Blossom just gave her head a little shake.

"Maybe he knew this person somehow and was simply grieving over..."

"He woulda told us if he knew the guy. Wouldn't he?"

The two sister's just stared at each other, faces worried and Bubbles felt almost frozen with terror. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions as well. Maybe this wasn't what she thought it was.

The little spot inside her chest stung and tingled...the spot where not so long ago someone had fastened their mouth over...a spot where someone had returned all the energy which just before, they had sucked away...

* * *

**A/N wassup my homies. wanna say a thanks to Livi-Love...cause i don't think anyone else is reading this story now besides you. High-five. And just to let people know...I've drawn Berry, Blank and Buzz over at my deviantART account if you wanna take a look. Lol. dA's Incylilspider. ^^**


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